NAACP Outraged Over Wisconsin Senate Vote To Cripple Opportunities For Working Families

March 10, 2011

CALLS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ANTI-UNION VOTE

Today the NAACP issued the following statement in response to last night’s vote in the Wisconsin Senate to strip public employees of their voice at work and unduly harm Wisconsin’s working families:

“We are utterly disappointed that Wisconsin state senate decided to disregard the will of the hard working people of Wisconsin, and play procedural games within the legislative body, in order to pass this economically devastating bill,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “This legislation cripples the ability of public workers to represent themselves in negotiations with a state government leadership that has demonstrated an unwillingness to act democratically and without empathy. The bill is bad for the State of Wisconsin, bad for Wisconsin families and sets an economically devastating precedent for the rest of the country. In order to pull this country back together we need to put this country back to work, this disastrous bill does just the opposite.”

Jealous went on to say, “The NAACP remains duly committed to fighting for the rights of American families, collective bargaining rights of union workers and will not stand for legislative and procedural gimmicks in Wisconsin or any other state that tries strip away rights of workers and families.”

The measure has been met with massive protests across Wisconsin and throughout the country. In February, the NAACP passed a resolution supporting the right of public sector employment unions to engage in collective bargaining. The resolution can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/4nowc2b.

Attendees of the 42nd NAACP Image Awards also wore red, white and blue ribbons to demonstrate their solidarity with protesting workers.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.